well I really love living in California since I made the move 2 years ago. One of the things I really do miss about the deep south though was the smaller races. I think all of these qualify by your standards and they still all happen to be some of my favorite races:

Heart of Dixie Triathlon, Philadelphia, MS

Sunfish Triathlon, Meridian, MS

Hub City Hustle Triathlon, Hattiesburg, MS

Crawfishman Triathlon, Mandeville, LA

Sandman Triathlon, Gulf Shores, AL

Mountain Lakes Triathlon, Guntersville, AL

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Mike Plumb, TriPower MultiSports
Professional Running, Cycling and Multisport Coaching, F.I.S.T. Certified
http://www.tripower.org

Missouri: www.raceforsight.org
They have a series: Duathlon ,5k ,sprint tri ,1/4 ironman, 1/2 ironman, ironman.
Saint louis has a tri series now: www.swimbikerunstlouis.com

Red Hills Triathlon, Tallahassee, FL

1/3 mile swim, 18 mile bike, 3.2 mile run

If you think FLA is only flat and full of palm trees and beaches, come and do this race. Outside of St. Anthony's, this is the best race I've participated in for my very short (1.5 years) triathlon career.

http://www.redhillstriathlon.org/

SW Triathlon series in New Mexico and West Texas. 20+ races that are all very well run events. F-1 race in Roswell end of August, Buffalo Springs 1/2IM in June, Polar Bear in White Sands in December. Check out this link for some more info on it and some of the archive write ups. The schedule is near the bottom of the main page. The series is the longest running multisport series in the US.

http://www.transitiontimes.com/newmexico

http://www.triteamsw.com/

Rusty

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"Strategy? The strategy was in the preparation" - Lance Armstrong after winning 2000 TDF

One of the events listed above by M. Plumb, Mountain Lakes, is put on by Team Magic out of Birmingham. I haven't made it to Mountain Lakes yet, but I've done a couple of their other events, and they put on really good, generally small, races. They are dedicated multisporters with good organizational skills. Check out www.team-magic.com for info on all their races.

BullMoose Triathlon. Held on a private waterskiing lake south of Reno, Nevada. Its more of a celebration of triathlon and not taking things too seriously. Navy Seal designed swim course with obstacle course at midway, two loop mountain bike course, 4 loop run course with water balloon dodging area. Handicapped start, donut eating required sin bin for any infractions. Huge rib and chicken bbq prior to awards. Finishing items included leather jackets, Desoto tri bags, bike jerseys, fleece vests.

For you Michigan racers, I was quite impressed with the Paul Bunyan Tri (1/2 IM) up in Oscoda.

Last year was the inaugural event and turnout was very moderate. It doesn't help that Oscoda is not the easiest place to get to.

The swim had a seaweed problem, but the bike and run were awesome. I think during the entire race I saw about 5 cars on the race course. The roads are in good condition too. More than 1/2 the run was on a dirt trail in the shade. Ideal for me. I had a great time.

Thanks for the replies.....keep 'em coming.

try the Tugaloo oly tri in georgia - about 400 entrants and they do a time-trial swim start. Nice bike course, well marshalled.

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"My strategy is to start out slow and then peter-out altogether" Walt Stack

For a great grass roots tri in Pennsylvania check out the Anthracite Triathlon

http://www.geocities.com/AnthraciteTriathlon/

Anthracite is in its third year this year, and it epitomizes a great small town race. The race director is no stranger to triathlon as he put on the Carbon County Triathlon for 10 years running in the 80's, this race is the reincarnation. Entry is limited to 300 participants and proceeds are donated to local charitable organizations.

The race starts in Mauch Chunk Lake Park near Jim Thorpe, PA. The swim is in a very nice fresh water lake in the park. The bike course is challenging (hilly) and takes you through several small coal mining towns in the area. The run is about 50% shaded trail and 50% road, and is also challenging.

The post race food is made by local groups and is one of the best post race spreads I've seen, past food has included hot and cold pasta dishes and homemade perogies, a local treat!

If you're fast enough for an award, overall or age group, you wont be disappointed with the trophies, they are created by a local artist out of chunks of coal (Anthracite is a type of coal) !

Camping is available in the park at the race site or stay at a B&B or Inn in one of the nearby historical towns.

I must confess to being a friend of the race director and have been intimately involved in putting the race on, but dont take my word for how good this race is...check out the comments on the race website.

The Galena Tri and Du in Galena, IL. Great early season sprint race in a scenic historic town. About 2 1/2 hrs from Chicago. Great destination to bring family or friends and stay for the weekend. Can be a cold swim, great bike through hills of Mississippi River bluffs, and fairly flat run. Fun race with good crowds, picnic and band at post race and usually a couple parties afterwards also. http://www.galena.org/triathlon/index.cfm

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a oly distance right downtown. Swim in the Allegheny, bike up hill for about 5 miles or so and then turn around and scream back down to do it again on the second loop. Then a flat run along the Allegheny on trails to an island and then back. Other than my A race for the year, I look forward to this race the most.

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"Any idiot can run a marathon. It takes a special kind of idiot to run an ultramarathon." -Alan Cabelly

#1 - Desert Classic Duathlon - late February - Phoenix, AZ

#2 - Mountain Man Triathlon - mid July - Flagstaff, AZ

#3 - Las Vegas Triathlon @ Storrie Lake - July - Las Vegas, NM - this year will be a "du" due to drought :-(

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It's a little like wrestling a gorilla.........you don't stop when you're tired.........you stop when the gorilla is tired.

I'll second the Paul Bunyon Challenge 1/2 IM in Oscoda Michigan. They also run a sprint and an Olympic distance race and, I think, a 5 or 10k road race the same weekend. Great swim, smooth roads, well staffed. Check them out here:

http://www.3disciplines.com/index.html

Another small town race that I really like is the Anchor Bay Triathlon in New Baltimore Michigan. :

http://www.trifind.com/r/anchorbay.html

Chris - I'd be interested to see your list of nor cal races. A new running series that really stood out to me last year here in the bay area was redwood trails. A super friendly trail running series, fun, very pleasant RD, profits go to parks. Highly recommended for a fall running focus!

The Redwood Trails folks are GREAT! I did their 01/01/03 race on Angel Island and had a great time. But even their races are selling out weeks in advance.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

I already sent this to Andrew. :-)



Los Angeles Triathlon Series, All Ladies Tri, Bonelli Olympic Distance

http://www.trievents.com/



Larry

I haven't seen any Texas races listed yet. A couple of my (and some other's) faves

1. Wool Capitol Triathlon ("Dirt Road From Hell" is an awesome run leg)

2. Corpus Chrisi Triathlon (Fast course with a great veiw of the Texas Bay)

3. Buffalo Springs (of course!)

No Cal Tri race organizers (smaller venue) include:

TBF (Total Body Fitness). They do a variety of Tri For Funs and Olympic distance races.

JA Productions: While they put on one of the largest events (San Jose) they also put on a smaller event in Alameda called Tri One that's a pretty nice Oly distance race (flat and fast....pretty cheap and easy to enter).

On Your Mark Events: Tri For Fun-Pleasanton, Bethel Island, and some Gold Country events. These guys are a little "scattered" but their events have a nice, home grown appeal

First Wave Events: Puts on the Santa Cruz Big Kahuna 1/2 IM, and the Silicon Valley Marathon

By the Beach Productions: Monterey Bay Triathlon, Sandman, Sentinel Tri (all in Santa Cruz)

Envirosports (tons of events)...again, a little scattered, but fun.

Any triathlon in South Louisiana.

Crawfishman, Mandeville, LA - crawfish,red beans and rice, beer and margaritas - $45.00
Cajunman, Lafayette, LA - Jambalaya, gumbo, beer - $45.00
Abitaman Series, Mandeville, LA - Jambalaya, beer - $45.00
Louisiana Triathlon, New Roads(near Baton Rouge) - same as above - $45.00
(All are the best post race parties in the USA. Everwhere else pales in comparison).
Most people in any race - 600

Bob Sigerson

The Hubbard Lake Tri in northern Michigan is a great "retro" race. When you cross the finish line they give you a popsicle stick with your finishing position. Great rolling hills (24 miles) of which Mount Maria (old ski place) gives a great view of the surrounding north country. The run is on mostly dirt roads (more hills). The swim is fantastic; cold water (68 degrees) and crystal clear. I watch crayfish moving on the bottom in greater than 15 ft of water. Fewer than 100 participants.

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Larry

Don't be afraid to ride too long or too hard. That's what cell phones are for. Rich Strauss

Virginia

1. Smith Mountain Lake Sprint (mid may)- 750 yd. Lake Swim, 20K bike in State Park and rolling Viginia hills, 5K run in park. Race is well run and a nice low key event to start the season.

2. Charlottesville Sprint Tri (late august)- Killer Sprint! If you don't like hills, this definitely isn't the race for you.

Indiana

1. Indy Triathlon (mid july)1K, 33K, 8K- Nice (but hot) race on a fast course.

River Cities Triathlon, Shreveport, LA - Sprint Dist, Great Food, Great Swag

Tinman, Shreveport, LA - Olymp Dist, Great Food, Great Swag (Home of Age Group National Course 2003 and 2004)

[reply]Any triathlon in South Louisiana.

Crawfishman, Mandeville, LA - crawfish,red beans and rice, beer and margaritas - $45.00
Cajunman, Lafayette, LA - Jambalaya, gumbo, beer - $45.00
Abitaman Series, Mandeville, LA - Jambalaya, beer - $45.00
Louisiana Triathlon, New Roads(near Baton Rouge) - same as above - $45.00
(All are the best post race parties in the USA. Everwhere else pales in comparison).
Most people in any race - 600

Bob Sigerson[/reply]

Bob is right, but selling these races short. Cajunman included free ice cream and Quessadillas as well as the Cajun food and had a Live Zydeco band performing afterwards. Louisiana Triathlon was only $35 and had free burritos as well as Jambalaya.

How about Indian Creek Tri - Woodville, LA
Goodie bag includes: hat, running shorts and t-shirt
Plenty of free beer, bar-b-que, and jambalaya after - $45, 200-300 participants

I'll bump into you after the race one of these days, Bob.

dave judice